I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to fluid transfer apparatus, and more particularly to a portable container for a liquid having a built-in, manual pump for transferring a liquid into or from the portable container.
II. Discussion of the Prior Art
There are many instances where a liquid must be dispensed from a first container to a second container rapidly and without any spillage. For example, in fueling an internal combustion engine, gasoline or diesel fuel must be carried in a portable container to the location of the engine fuel tank and the fuel poured from the transporting container into the fuel tank without spillage. This task becomes difficult where the entrance opening to the engine's fuel tank is relatively small in size or is at an angle to the horizontal or a difficult to reach location. In an attempt to address the small size issue, the prior art solution has generally been to utilize a funnel, but this solution has its drawbacks. Specifically, the rate at which the fuel can be poured from an auxiliary gas can into the engine's tank is limited by the build-up of a back pressure as the fuel displaces air in the engine's fuel tank. Air can only escape back up through the opening in the funnel which not only produces harmful fumes, but also possible splattering of the fuel being poured.
With volatile fuels, such as gasoline, a potential exists for explosion or fire if static electric charge is able to build up on one or the other of the container transporting the fuel and the tank into which the fuel is to be deposited. If the charge is sufficiently high, a spark can result that can ignite fumes resulting as the fuel is being poured into the engine's tank.
In agricultural applications, a farmer may have to deal with liquid fertilizers and herbicides, transferring the chemical from a container transported to the field and into the tank of an agricultural sprayer. Here again, as in the case of handling engine fuels, it is important that spillage be minimized or eliminated. Plumbers and building maintenance workers often face a need to pump liquids from toilets, plugged sinks into a container for later disposal.
It is accordingly a principal object of the present invention to provide a safe, convenient and expeditious way of transferring a liquid from a first container into a second container that avoids the possibility of spillage and which minimizes fume escape and the possibility of fuel ignition due to static electricity discharges.